How to attract more women to IT & Technology

The economic empowerment of women across the developed countries is considered one of the most significant revolutions in the past hundred years. Women that were previously economically dependent on men now manage their own lives, finances and careers.

Although the general situation has improved, women are still under represented in a number of sectors. One of the worst affected is IT & Technology. A 2011 US survey found that although females held 48% of all jobs, only 24% of working females were employed in IT, technology, engineering and mathematics industries (Department of Commerce, 2011). This is despite research showing that women working in IT & technology earn 33% more than those in other fields.

Another problem is that the ratio of men and women earning degrees from technical majors at universities is disproportionally lower. In addition, women who do take science, IT & technology or engineering degrees tend to work outside of the technical occupations, with many starting their careers in education or healthcare.

Understandably, this can cause issues for tech companies lacking in female staff. One of the greatest benefits of having a more gender balanced work place is that it brings a greater variety of approaches to problem solving, which in turn can raise the overall effectiveness of teams.

In order to address this problem, we need to find a way of introducing more women into IT & Technology. We will be bringing you some ideas as to how you can increase your ratio of female employees.